Electric fiddle and pickup

ABSTRACT

The invention is an electric pickup for stringed instruments comprising an isolated bridge and a hollow coil suspendedly held beneath the strings. A fixed, adjustable member suspendedly holds a magnet within the hollow center of the coil, or suspendedly holds the coil with its hollow center around a magnet. Also, the invention is an improved electric fiddle stick employing this electric pickup.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

This invention relates to stringed musical instruments with electricpickups. More particularly, this invention relates to an electric fiddleand a special electric pickup.

2. Related Art

In my U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,691 (Kennedy), I disclose an electric fiddlestick with metallic strings and a pickup comprising a magnet and a coilsuspendedly attached towards the neck of the instrument under thefingerboard. In this patent I refer to electromagnetic pickups ingeneral as described by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,069,732 (Moskowitz, et al.),4,184,398 (Sigelman), 4,236,433 (Holland), 4,535,668 (Schaller), and4,581,974 (Fender), and 4,765,219 (Alm).

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

What I have invented is:

An electric pickup for a stringed instrument comprising:

(a) a bridge in isolated engagement with the body of the instrument atthe bridge's bottom end, said bridge being in tensioned engagement withthe strings of the instrument at the bridge's top end;

(b) an electric coil with a hollow center held in suspended relationshipbeneath said strings, said coil being electrically connected toamplification means;

(c) a magnet held in suspended relationship within said hollow center ofsaid coil; and,

(d) a moveable, adjustable member, in fixed engagement with said body ofthe instrument, said adjustable member maintaining the suspendedrelationship between said hollow center of said coil and said magnet.

My electric pickup above includes the feature wherein the coil isfastened to the bridge and the magnet is held within the hollow centerof said coil by the moveable, adjustable member. Also, my electricpickup includes the feature wherein the magnet is fastened to the bridgeand the coil is held with its hollow center around the magnet by themoveable, adjustable member.

Also, what I have invented is:

An improved electric fiddle stick comprising:

(a) an elongated body including a head, a neck, a fingerboard, a basesection and a butt;

(b) a plurality of strings fastened on their first end to said head andon their second end to said butt, said strings being in close, parallelrelationship to the top surface of said fingerboard;

(c) a bridge in isolated engagement with said base section at thebridge's bottom end, said bridge being in tensioned engagement with saidplurality of strings at the bridge's top end;

(d) an electric coil with a hollow center held in suspended relationshipbeneath said strings, said coil being electrically connected toamplification means;

(e) a magnet held in suspended relationship within said hollow center ofsaid coil;

(f) a moveable, adjustable member, in fixed engagement with said basesection, said adjustable member maintaining the suspended relationshipbetween said hollow center of said coil and said magnet.

My improved fiddle stick above includes the features wherein the stringsare metallic, non-metallic or a combination of the two.

By using my invention, an improved electric fiddle stick is providedwhich amplifies a true, clear fiddle tone.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of my improved fiddlestick.

FIG. 2 is a left-side, partial view of the bridge and pickup section ofone embodiment of my improved fiddle stick.

FIG. 3 is a right-side, partial view of the bridge and pickup section ofone embodiment of my improved fiddle stick.

FIG. 4 is an exploded, partial view of the bridge and pickup section ofone embodiment of my improved fiddle stick.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT INVENTION

Referring to the FIGURES, there is depicted generally my improved fiddlestick 10 with an elongated body 11 including head 12, neck 13,fingerboard 14, base section 15 and butt 16. A plurality of strings 17are fastened on their first end to the head 12, and on their second endto butt 16 via tail piece 18. The strings are in close, parallelrelationship to the top surface of said fingerboard, so they may bedepressed and held against it by the player.

Bridge 19 is in isolated engagement with base section 15 at bridge's 19bottom end. Bridge base 20 is wrapped in, or otherwise surrounded by,bridge pad 21, to support bridge 19 on, and to isolate it from, basesection 15. Bridge 19 is in tensioned engagement with strings 17 atbridge's 19 top end. Strings 17, fastened tightly on one end to head 12,and on the other end to tail piece 18 and butt 16, press down on the topof bridge 19 and hold it firmly against base section 15.

Electric coil 22 has a hollow center section 23 and electrical wires 24which connect it to conventional amplification means. In the embodimentshown, coil 22 is securely fastened to bridge 19 via bolt 25 and nut 26.In this embodiment, bridge 19 holds coil 22 in suspended relationshipbeneath strings 17 between bridge 19 and tail piece 18.

Also in this embodiment, magnet 27 is connected to threaded rod 28, andheld in suspended relationship by rod 28 within hollow center 23 of coil22. Rod 28 is a moveable, adjustable member held in fixed engagementwith base section 15 by rod support 29 and rod support pad 30 which arefastened to base section 15 by screw 31. Threaded hole 32 in rod support29 permits rod 28 to be turned, and moved in and out, relative to coil's22 hollow center section 23. Consequently, magnet 27 may also be turned,and moved in and out, relative to hollow center section 23.

In another embodiment not shown in the drawings, magnet 27 may besecurely fastened to bridge 19 and coil 22 connected to threaded rod 28.Also, the magnet and the coil may be held in suspended relationshipbeneath strings 17 between fingerboard 14 and bridge 19. All that Irequire for my pickup is the magnet 27 suspended in the hollow center 23of the coil 22, beneath the strings 17 and one of the magnet and coilvibrating relative to the other. I prefer the embodiment depicted in thedrawings, however.

My improved fiddle stick is made from conventional materials byconventional techniques. Preferably, elongated body 11, head 12, neck13, fingerboard 14, base section 15 and butt 16 are made of wood. Aconvenient chin rest 33, also made of wood, may be provided on the topside of butt 16. Metallic strings 17 may be spirally wrapped, flat wiresor solid, cylindrical wire strands, as in ordinary metallic stringedinstruments. Non-metallic strings may be solid, cylindrical nylonstrands, for example.

Bridge 19 is also made of wood, and shaped like ordinary bridges forstringed instruments. Bridge base 20 is made of plastic, preferablyultra-high molecular weight polyethylene. Bridge pad 21 is preferablymade of a soft, sticky, latex or rubber material, which provides maximumdampening effect from base section 15 to bridge 19, and maximum grippingeffect, between the bridge 19 and the base section 15. A good bridge pad21 is simply a short section of surgical tubing slid around bridge base20.

Electric coil 22 is constructed by wrapping an insulated wire windingabout a cylindrical form, for example, and then removing the form tocreate a hollow center section 23. There may be one or more discreetwire windings, or one or more coils with a common hollow center 23. Thecoils may be wrapped with different size wire windings, or with adifferent number of wraps, to produce different levels of amplification,and different tones. Generally, the wires are wrapped in the samedirection to give the coil a specific electrical sense.

Magnet 27 may be metal or ceramic, and it may be of various shapes sothat the magnetic poles may be in any direction. A unique feature of myinvention is that the magnet is nearly universally adjustable withinhollow center section 23 of coil 22. This way, the tone picked up by thecoil and magnet combination may also be nearly universally adjusted. Thestrength of the indigenous magnetic field in magnet 27 may vary. Infact, it may be very slight or even zero. I have been able to make mypickup work with a plain piece of metal used as magnet 27. However, Ithink this is possible because the coil tends to magnetize the metalpiece suspended within the coil's hollow center.

Preferably, rod 28 is a threaded rod which cooperates with threaded hole32 in rod support 29. Optionally, there may be a spiral spring 34wrapped around rod 28 to securely hold it at its desired adjustment. Rodsupport 29 is also made of plastic, preferably ultra-high molecularweight polyethylene. Rod support pad 30 is also made of a firm, hardplastic, but preferably of a material different than that of rod support29 in order to prevent resonance and to maximize direct vibrationalcontact with base section 15.

In use, my instrument may be bowed or plucked in much the same manner asa fiddle or violin. When the strings 17 are bowed or plucked theyvibrate, causing the bridge 19, and connected coil 22 to vibrate also.Consequently, coil 22 vibrates with respect to the relatively fixedmagnetic field of magnet 27 suspended within the hollow center section23 of coil 22, and electrical lines 24 transmit the resulting change inemf in the coil to conventional amplification means. Control switchknobs 35, 36 and 37 may be positioned on the elongated body 11 asdesired, and electrically or electronically configured as desired toadjust volume and tone according to conventional techniques. Output jack38 is provided for an easy electrical connection to amplification means.

While there is shown and described the present preferred embodiment ofthe invention, it is to be distinctly understood that this invention isnot limited thereto but may be variously embodied to practice within thescope of the following claims.

What I claim is:
 1. An electric pickup for a stringed instrumentcomprising:(a) a bridge in isolated engagement with the body of theinstrument at the bridge's bottom end, said bridge being in tensionedengagement with the strings of the instrument at the bridge's top end;(b) an electric coil with a hollow center held in suspended relationshipbeneath the strings, said coil being electrically connected toamplification means; (c) a magnet held in suspended relationship withinsaid hollow center of said coil; and, (d) a moveable, adjustable member,in fixed engagement with said body of the instrument, said adjustablemember maintaining the suspended relationship between said hollow centerof said coil and said magnet.
 2. The pickup of claim 1 wherein the coilis fastened to the bridge and the magnet is held within the hollowcenter of said coil by the moveable, adjustable member.
 3. The pickup ofclaim 1 wherein the magnet is fastened to the bridge and the coil isheld with its hollow center around the magnet by the movable adjustablemember.
 4. The improved fiddle stick of claim 1 wherein the strings aremetallic strings.
 5. The improved fiddle stick of claim 1 wherein thestrings are non-metallic strings.
 6. The improved fiddle stick of claim1 wherein the strings are a combination of metallic and non-metallicstrings.
 7. An improved electric fiddle stick comprising:(a) anelongated body including a head, a neck, a fingerboard, a base sectionand a butt; (b) a plurality of strings fastened on their first end tosaid head and on their second end to said butt, said strings being inclose, parallel relationship to the top surface of said fingerboard; (c)a bridge in isolated engagement with said base section at the bridge'sbottom end, said bridge being in tensioned engagement with saidplurality of strings at the bridge's top end; (d) an electric coil witha hollow center held in suspended relationship beneath said strings,said coil being electrically connected to amplification means; (e) amagnet held in suspended relationship within said hollow center of saidcoil; (f) a moveable, adjustable member, in fixed engagement with saidbase section, said adjustable member maintaining the suspendedrelationship between said hollow center of said coil and said magnet.